DANA 44 Rear

This was a good idea for this forum let me say...

Anyway i have a dana 44 rearend and want to get some rims off a 4th gen car (z06 17"). I want to know if these will fit, i have put this question on the appreance and really got no responce so i figured i would give this new one a shot......
Thanks
James

You have to do some measurements. The bolt pattern is 5x4.75" for F-bodies and the center bore is 2 11/16". Measure what you have to see if it's the same. It's easy to enlarge the center bore of the wheels a bit if needed.

Rich Krause

I only hear about people running 9" or 12 bolts. I've also heard a few running the old 9 bolt. I'm wondering how many other people are runing rear ends besides these (and stock, of course:p )

Hey Rich, you've been on this board a long time!;)

Originally posted by snorkelface


Hey Rich, you've been on this board a long time!;)


:p

Some of those Dana's are hella strong but huge and heavy. I think there might be major problems just getting one to fit on a 3rd or 4th gen. Be curious if anyone has done it on a late model street/strip F-body and how it all worked out.

Rich Krause

Yes I have like i said i have a dana 44 in my 89 iroc, and beileve it or not it bolted right up with very little modification.....

Originally posted by IrocinthatZ
Yes I have like i said i have a dana 44 in my 89 iroc, and beileve it or not it bolted right up with very little modification.....

Do you have any pics? I am having trouble visualizing the "44". How much bigger is it than say a 12-bolt?

Rich Krause

sorry no i dont have an pics but size is not an issue at all....So you dont have to worry about ground clearence or anything like....

James

Rich i have one as well.....GMPP and SLP were selling them for a while in the late 90s and i think up until 2000

It was a great unit and hopefully i wont break one too soon. I plan to put a lot of power through one and the only other person i know of who did was preston smith and he broke it a lot but i think that was due to trans-brake usage

basically it has a 8.5" ring gear, 30spline axles, and bolt-in axles. I'm in the process of buying aftermarket axles to be legal for past 10.99

---As for your question, you will need spacers just like if you had a normal 10 bolt. The dana 44 is the same width as any stock thirdgen rear

I believe that the Dana 44 was stock on Gen III 1LE cars.

Daren

Originally posted by GUMP
I believe that the Dana 44 was stock on Gen III 1LE cars.

Daren

nope, common misconception. Some people think the TTA got them too.

The only 3rdgen that came from the factory with one was the mucho expensive and rare Firehawk

There were some dealerships, however, that would replace the factory 9 or 10 bolt with the dana 44 rear for warranty work. All you had to do was pay the difference in price

Thanks for increasing my knowledge in this area. :bow:

Rich Krause

Every time I am in a junk yard I look under all of the 3rd Gen F-Bodies in the hopes of finding a Dana 44. No luck yet! I had heard that they came factory on some cars, but this goes to prove that you can't believe everything that you read!
In the mid nineties when they were discontinued Summit sold their last one for a crazy low price (I think it was about $200.00!!). I missed it by hours.
It would be a great rear for a Pure Stocker. Lighter than a 12-bolt, but stronger than the factory 10-bolt.

Thanks for the reply,

Daren

pure stocker?? lol im running about 300 through it right now...
I plan on throwing around 450-500hp at it ( hope it holds up)

The only thing i do not like about the rear end is the axle bearings. They are not sealed. There is a race that is in the housing end and a roller timken bearing pressed onto the axle that then sits in the race in the housing end.

With a lot of hard launching i would check the bearings every year